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Hand Catch and Spot
Landing Contest
28
December, 2008
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A hand catch landing
contest was successfully run in Clearwater Bay flying site on
28
December 2008.
The wind condition
of the day was basically
clam, so it was well suitable for this kind of contest.
The rule for this contest is to allow each pilot to have two launches
within one minute time frame. If he successfully catches the plane in
the first attempt, he is awarded with 3 marks, 2 marks are awarded for
the catch on the second attempt, 1 mark for the third attempt and zero
mark thereafter. In one minute time, a maximum
of 6 marks can be achieved for two successful first-attempt catches.
There were six rounds of contests, pilots flew one by one in each round.
The scores for the best five rounds of a pilot were be used to calculate the final
position for the pilot. In order to protect the public and other
onlookers nearby, a safety net was installed on the firing zone just
behind the pilot position.
A total
of 8 pilots joined the contest. The
first pilot to fly was Eric who performed magnificently to grab a full
score of 6 marks. Eric was famous not only because he has mastered the
skill in hand-catching sailplanes but also the skill to verbally
cheating others to believe what is hidden behind him. So, this time he
has unveiled his potential fully. The second pilot to fly was Lee Man
who was crowned the king of hand-catcher after winning the first hand
catch contest last year. Without disappointment he got a full
score also. Then came Philips, who was new to this contest. Definitely,
his skill was still immature and he managed to get only one insecure
catch of 2 marks. Black Boy is another guy who has mastered and
perfected the skill of hand catching. After round one was completed only
three pilots. Eric, Lee Man and Black Boy got a full 6 marks. By the end
of round 6, two pilots, Third Brother and Black Boy got a full score of
30, followed by Lee Man with a score of 29. Unluckily, Eric was just 1
mark behind Lee Man and was not qualified for the final. After a short
break, the final kicked off with three top pilots. With two rounds of
contest in the final, Lee Man performed superbly with full scores for
both rounds, while Third Brother and Black Boy failed to get full mark
due to influence of the variable wind condition, bad luck men! So, the
champion for the hand catch contest was Lee Man! This was the second
time he got the title of king of hand catcher, well done!
Below is the score table:
Hand Catch
Contest (Qualifying) |
Pilot |
Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Round 4 |
Round 5 |
Round 6 |
Final Score |
Eric Wong |
3+3 |
3+2 |
3+3 |
3+2 |
0+0 |
3+3 |
28 |
Lee Man |
3+3 |
2+3 |
3+3 |
3+3 |
3+3 |
2+3 |
29 |
Philips |
2+0 |
0+3 |
0+0 |
3+0 |
0+0 |
0+0 |
8 |
Third Brother |
0+3 |
3+3 |
3+3 |
3+3 |
3+3 |
3+3 |
30 |
Uncle Chan |
2+0 |
3+3 |
2+0 |
0+3 |
3+2 |
0+0 |
18 |
Stanley Chan |
0+0 |
0+0 |
0+0 |
0+2 |
3+3 |
0+0 |
8 |
Black Boy |
3+3 |
3+3 |
3+3 |
3+2 |
3+3 |
3+3 |
30 |
Lou Tsz Ming |
2+0 |
0+2 |
3+3 |
3+0 |
0+0 |
0+3 |
16 |
Hand Catch Contest (Final) |
Pilot |
Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Final
Score |
Lee Man |
3+3 |
3+3 |
12 |
Third
Brother |
3+0 |
0+0 |
3 |
Black Boy |
3+2 |
0+3 |
8 |
|

Lee Man on the right approach to get a full score,
well done! |

Well, it was a bit off course, but still a full mark
was awarded to Black Boy |

Oh!, Philips has tried his best, close enough |

Click to watch a movie how Lee Man got a full 6 marks
easily |

Click to watch a movie how Third Brother got a full 6
marks |

Click to watch a movie how Philips tried his best to
catch |

The king of hand catcher was awarded to Lee Man, this
is second time he got the honor |

Let's have a group photo after the hand catch contest |
|
After the hand catch contest, a spot landing was
arranged. Three
concentric circles were painted on the sandy grassy slope.
Points were given according to the distance measured
from the nose of the landed glider to the center target;
5 points for glider parked
inside the inner circle
with 1 meter diameter, 3 points for the middle
circle with 3 meters diameter,
1 point for the outer circle 5 meters diameter,
and 0 otherwise. A total of 10 pilots
participated in the spot landing contest. Actually the condition was
quite challenging for the pilots because the wind was too weak and
occasionally it was coming from the black! Lee Man performed superbly
with firm control to steer his plane to the right spot while most others
had difficulty to stabilize their planes and steer them on course. After
five rounds of contest, Lee Man won the spot landing contest again
followed closely by Eric. It was a big honor for Lee Man because he won
two contests in a day, congratulation! The score sheet for the spot
landing contest is shown in the table below: |
Spot
Landing Contest |
Pilot |
Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Round 4 |
Round 5 |
Final Score |
Eric Wong |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
11 |
Uncle Chan |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Lee Man |
3 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
13 |
Philips |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
Albert |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Kenneth |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
9 |
Black Boy |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Stanley Chan |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
Third Brother |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
Ken Ma |
0 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
|

Lee Man and Black Boy were helping to prepare the
landing spot |

The judges were discussing whether the landed plane
was inside the red circle or not |

The 2nd runner-up
prize awarded to Kenneth |

Oh! Eric got the 1st runner-up prize |

The champion of spot landing contest was gain Lee Man |

Let has a group photo for the winners! |